Virtual Unreality

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Weinel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Interactive Video ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Visual Systems

This chapter explores altered states of consciousness in interactive video games and virtual reality applications. First, a brief overview of advances in the sound and graphics of video games is provided, which has led to ever-more immersive capabilities within the medium. Following this, a variety of games that represent states of intoxication, drug use, and hallucinations are discussed, in order to reveal how these states are portrayed with the aid of sound and music, and for what purpose. An alternative trajectory in games is also explored, as various synaesthetic titles are reviewed, which provide high-adrenaline experiences for ravers, and simulate dreams, meditation, or psychedelic states. Through the analysis of these, and building upon the previous chapters of Inner Sound, this chapter presents a conceptual model for ‘Altered States of Consciousness Simulations’: interactive audio-visual systems that represent altered states with regards to the sensory components of the experience.

Abstractions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Weinel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Electronic Music ◽  
Sensory Experience ◽  
Visual Media ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Immersive Technologies

The concluding chapter of Inner Sound: Altered States of Consciousness in Electronic Music and Audio-Visual Media consolidates the main arguments of the book. The journey taken is recapitulated, from shamanic rituals to psychedelic rock shows and raves; and from outdoor electroacoustic concerts to synaesthetic films and hallucinatory video games. Across these examples, similar underlying principles can be identified, revealing a continuity from ancient shamanism to modern ‘technoshamanism’. Yet while some imperatives have remained consistent, the technologies have evolved, yielding ever-more accurate and sophisticated representations of altered states in electronic music and audio-visual media. This finds us on the brink of ‘Altered States of Consciousness Simulations’, which replicate the sensory experience of altered states using immersive technologies such as fulldomes and virtual reality headsets. Looking forwards, the possible uses and ethical implications of these simulations are explored, at the frontiers of electronic music and art.

Shamanic Diffusions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Weinel
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Electroacoustic Music ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Sound Design ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Listening Experience ◽  
General Explanation

This chapter explores how electroacoustic music takes the listener on a journey through unreal, imaginary, or hallucinatory sound-worlds. The chapter commences with a general explanation of electroacoustic music, and how it may allow illusory representations of real and unreal sounds and spaces. Following this, various compositions of electroacoustic music are discussed, which are explicitly based on altered states of consciousness such as dreams, shamanic visions, and hallucinations. It is proposed that the typical listening experience of these compositions can be characterized as introspective or meditative in form. The analysis of these works is also used to inform a conceptual model, which defines possible approaches for sound design related to altered states of consciousness according to several dimensions. In particular, this model considers approaches through which sound may either ‘represent’ or ‘induce’ altered states of consciousness—functions that are considered as distinct, yet related.

Inner Sound

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Weinel
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Music ◽  
Interactive Video ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Visual Media ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Electronic Dance Music ◽  
Visual Music ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
States Of Consciousness

Inner Sound explores how altered states of consciousness have shaped the design of electronic music and audio-visual media. The book begins by discussing consciousness, and how this may change during states such as dreaming, psychedelic experience, meditation, and trance. Next, a variety of shamanic traditions are reviewed, in order to explore how indigenous societies have reflected visionary experiences through visual art and music. This provides the necessary background from which to consider how analogue and digital audio technologies enable specific capabilities for representing or inducing altered states of consciousness in psychedelic rock, electronic dance music, and electroacoustic music. Developing the discussion to consider sound in the context of audio-visual media, the role of altered states of consciousness in films, visual music, VJ performances, interactive video games, and virtual reality applications is also discussed. Through the analysis of these examples, the author uncovers common mechanisms, and ultimately proposes a conceptual model for ‘Altered States of Consciousness Simulations’. This theoretical model describes how sound can be used to simulate various subjective states of consciousness from a first-person perspective, in an interactive context. Throughout the book, the ethical issues regarding altered states of consciousness in electronic music and audio-visual media are also explored, ultimately allowing the reader to consider not only the design of Altered States of Consciousness Simulations, but also the implications of their use for digital society. In this way, Inner Sound explores the limits of technology for representing and manipulating consciousness, at the frontiers of electronic music and art.

Sadomasochism as a path to altered states of consciousness

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. Ambler ◽  
Ellen M. Lee ◽  
Kathryn R. Klement ◽  
Tonio Loewald ◽  
Brad J. Sagarin
Keyword(s):  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
States Of Consciousness

Synaesthetic Overdrive

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Weinel
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Visual Media ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Visual Music ◽  
Background Theory ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Feature Films ◽  
Expanded Cinema ◽  
Improved Accuracy

This chapter discusses altered states of consciousness in audio-visual media, such as films, psychedelic light shows, and VJ performances. First, some background theory is introduced, explaining the main categories of film sound, and what research tells us regarding the way in which sound influences the perception of visual images and vice versa. Following this background section, a tour is provided through various films that represent altered states of consciousness, including surrealist movies, ‘trance films’, and Hollywood feature films. These demonstrate a progression, where more recent movies are able to make use of digital audio and visual effects to represent the subjective experience of altered states with improved accuracy. Meanwhile, beyond the traditional confines of the cinema, ‘expanded cinema’ works such as visual music, psychedelic light shows, and VJ performances have provided increasingly sophisticated synaesthetic experiences, which are designed to transform the consciousness of their audience.

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